Anonymous political betting on platforms like Karshi is on the rise
Betting on national security issues like war provides perverse incentives like insider trading. There is also a risk that betting on death will become the norm.
As Texans headed to the polls to fulfill their civic duty during the 2026 Texas primary, a candidate was fined for trying to cash in on the election.
Calci, a regulated currency and prediction market, announced it would fine and suspend former Texas Republican primary candidate Ezequiel Enriquez for “political insider trading.”
“Just like in traditional financial markets, bad actors will attempt to cheat,” Kalsi said in the release. “These three cases are examples of how developing proactive engineering solutions can help identify illicit trade activity.”
For context, Enriquez was one of three major U.S. political candidates who were found to have exploited their elections and were fined and suspended by Carsi.
Carsi alleges that Enriquez, a candidate for the Republican primary in Texas’ 21st Congressional District, traded in prediction markets during his primary campaign. The amount Mr. Enriquez attempted to trade was not disclosed, but Mr. Carsi said it was a “pretty small amount.”
The platform said it preemptively blocked the traders and launched a full-scale investigation.
“When we contacted the trader, he was fully cooperative with the investigation, admitted to violating the rules, and agreed to settle the case by paying a $784.20 fine and accepting a five-year suspension,” Carsi said in a release.
Enriquez also did not win in the primary and finished 11th, but former MLB player Mark Teixeira, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, won the primary.
Mateo Rosiles is a Texas Connect reporter for USA TODAY and local Texas newspapers. Do you have any news tips for him? Email him: mrosiles@usatodayco.com.
